Unless leaders in Europe act quickly, the financial crisis there could drag down the global economy and kill what appears to be a "fragile, extremely uneven" recovery, the multi-national Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned today.

In a stark report calling for action aimed at boosting and shoring up Europe's economies, OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan warns that "the crisis in the euro zone remains the single biggest downside risk facing the global outlook."

"Failure to act today could lead to a worsening of the European crisis and spillovers beyond the euro area," the report adds. The OECD calls on eurozone countries "to announce and commit to implement [economic and financial] reforms in a coordinated and parallel fashion, signalling enhanced coordination."

The OECD also warns that the scheduled expiration of the so-called Bush tax cuts at the end of this year, combined with the end of "emergency unemployment benefits ... [and scheduled] federal spending cuts" might derail the U.S. economy's recovery.

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